House purchase - should the house number be a consideration?

Not sure if right forum category, but I have some initial interest in a house as an investment property. It's in a nice quiet street, good suburb, priced competitively however the house number is "4", just curious to know do people even consider the house number when contemplating buying a property? Personally I'm not superstitious in this respect, but I do know some people are, I ask from the standpoint as to whether you may deter future potential buyers due to the house number alone, similar to if your house was next to a main road/intersection. Thanks for your input.

closed Comments

  • Why does it matter what the house number is? Because of Chinese investors?

    • Pretty much, got to cover all your bases when investing large amounts of money.

    • +3

      Might be a good thing to have "4" in house's street number — less competition at the auctions :)

      • +1

        less competition now which most likely mean, less competition in the future too.

        • or , more, since people are starting to lose traditional beliefs and become more scientific .

        • @Settero:

          Are they? I wish you would tell ISIS.

  • +1

    OP would you buy a house with number 13? :)

    • +1

      Or 666?

    • Yes to both if it's a good buy, it doesnt bother me re numbers.

      • Our first home had '44' now we're considering to buy '133'… both were/are good deals at the respective times…

        • And all because of the number ::eye roll::

  • +1

    I think you have be a Chinese? Australia quiet liked "4". if you dont like "4"you can change it to 3+1

    • +1

      Chinese loveeeeeeeeee '8'

      • If the current property was '8', I would probably have bought it by now :)

    • Yes I am, but born and bred Aussie. Just don't want to deter any wealthy Chinese buyers down the track due to the number 4. Yes, it sounds silly, but just want to see if there's any weight behind numerology and house investing.

    • Or 3.99!

      I'm imagining driving down a street and coming across house number 3.99 - I'd definitely stop to have a look :)

  • If it wasn't for 4 there would be no 5…

    • you make a lot of sense!

      • I can't disagree with your brilliant thinking. :+)

        • I dunno. 5 is on the other side of the street. Maybe there is no 6. Our little cul-de-sac only has 4,6,8,10 and 3. (glasd we didn't buy 4!)

        • Not enough numbers for X-Lotto or even a fibonacci sequence.

  • +3

    I only live in houses that are number 69

    • must be a fun place to live.

    • +1

      Do you cook a lot or do you eat out?

      • I bet he dines at the YMCA.

    • 69 - dinner for two

  • A bit plot of land next to my house was subdivided. Within there were 5 lots of small land, each the same size. They auctioned all of them on the same day. Lot 4 was the cheapest. Lot 5 was the most expensive (might have because it was the last lot of the day and those that didnt want to buy lot 4 were forced to bid on lot 5)

    • interesting to know!

  • -3

    i wish my home number is 8888

    • +1

      i would be content with just 8, not a greedy person

  • My wife has always told me to specifically look for house number 414 so we won't pay a motza for it.

    • lol, you would probably be the only bidder on that one.

  • +1

    A Chinese friend of mine had some wealthy cousins who around 30 years bought a block of land off the plan on a canal. It wasn't cheap, even back then. When the street numbers were issued (after the building plans had been approved) they found they bought number 4 so they bought the block next door as well. They put a fence around both blocks and called it number 6 and left the spare block as just grass. Sold both for a fortune some 25 years later.

  • I think every house has something "wrong" with it. Please price that in to your offer and you will be ok, as others will price that into their offer when you sell it later. So the net effect would be zero. I nearly bought a house across the road from a cemetery, price was really good for the location. I still regret not buying it today. Lol.

  • +1

    This reminds me of an episode of Selling Houses Australia. There was a house they were trying to sell which had a 2 or 3 digit number followed by the letter F. It was a stand alone property but the number made it look like it was part of a subdivision like a unit or a townhouse. Selling Houses Australia got the owner to ask the local council to change the number back to the original number so that prospective buyers would understand the house better and know that they were getting a free standing property rather than a subdivision restricted by strata or body corporate rules. The F had been added by the previous owners who didn't like the original number and got it changed to what they perceived as a lucky number followed by the letter F. Council were quite happy to change it back and the house sold quickly, partly as a result of changing the number back to a normal number.

    As far as Australian society goes, numbers aren't really an issue. There are enough non superstitious people out there to make it worth buying a number 4 or any other number that might be considered lucky or unlucky.

  • What are the good and bad numbers and what do they mean?

    My home phone number ends in 888.

    • You've got a lucky phone number, you should sell that to a wealthy chinese investor.

      As to the good and bad numbers, from a Chinese perspective, most try to avoid 4, with 8 and 3 usually preferred. However a number like 48 might be considered acceptable as the two numbers nets each other off.

      • but… doesn't 4 mean death and 8 means wealth? i'm not sure how that would net each other off… you're wealthy, but you're dead.

  • It could make a difference in an area known to have a higher proportion of Chinese ownership. Where we live there aren't many Chinese people, No 4 isn't going to be an issue, nor No 8 be more desirable.

    I suspect in most parts of Australia there will be dozens more factors at play to determine whether the house is desirable or not.

    The example above about Selling Houses changing the number of the house probably had a renovation done as well, followed by a decent marketing strategy. Our last house looked like it was overlooked by the neighbours house in the photos when we bought, so much so that we didn't even consider it from the online ads. It just happened that I was driving past when there was an open house and decided it was worth looking at because I was in the area. We ended up buying it and it wasn't overlooked by the house next door at all (but also fit our other criteria). It was also No 13, and sold again really easily when we wanted.

    • Yes, common sense normally prevails.

  • In Japan the rents for the 4th floor are usually cheaper.

  • I personally couldn't care less about house numbers but I know my future buyers would.

    Gotta think about resale. I knew of someone who tried to sell an apartment on the 13th floor and it was so difficult.

    • That's my concern…

      • Oh yeah, so what I meant if it wasn't clear is, you should care about numbers even if you don't, because others would. Unless you intend to never resell your house, buy whatever number you like. Another exception is if the house is much cheaper than the other houses on the block. Compare parallel streets and their values with the unlucky numbers.

        • Gotcha

    • But was it a difficult sale becuase it was on 13th floor only, or was the market dead, or did they want to much for it, or were there heaps of other similar properties?

      I get that some people won't buy certain numbers, but there are plenty more that will. Just as some won't buy on a busy road, but some do or some must have a garage and other want a bus stop next door.

      If someone has bought it before, then someone will buy it again. Also if it is difficult to sell it will be cheaper when you buy as well as when you sell - its all relative.

  • LOL

  • Apart from numbers, when shopping for our dream property years ago, I somehow was always discouraged by some obscure street names. Hard to spell, long names or strange sounding names are bizarre…

  • I don't care what the house number is or what bs direction is faces.

    If it makes me money- that what matters

  • I thought Shanghai ppl love 4.

  • Look, I think that the strict economic view is that the same effect would apply on purchase as it does on sale as it is essentially the same market. In other words, even though the street number might mean a worse sale result for you when you sell, it also means a 'worse' sale result for the current owner i.e you buy cheaper.

  • For me a sunny north (or west) facing backyard would be the most important aspect. So odd numbers (1,3,5 etc.) work best for me.

  • Unit number used to be 14 and it got sold to an Chinese(I think) during auction. I think at right price it will get sold no matter what.

  • -2

    In Cantonese the number 4 sounds like the word "to die" (as in to die and go to the other side). I guess the bigger problem you need to consider is the feng shui of the house as it suits you.

  • +1

    I owned a house which was number 40, and on a t-intersection which apparently the Chinese don't like either. The t-intersection wasn't a busy road at all, it was practically a laneway.

    When we sold the place, the Chinese were buying up massively in the area (Springvale South). It didn't end up selling to Chinese, presumably because of the superstitious crap relating to its location. There was probably a bit less competition on the house, but we were still happy with the price we got.

    Long story short, I wouldn't worry about it. Other real factors such as the property and its location and amenities will count more than any superstitious crap about the house number.

  • Yeah, not going to worry about it, just going to make sure i get a good price on purchase.

  • -1

    I just bought a house recently, number 14. I got as many 8s into my purchase price as possible. I'm betting on wealthy investors seeing $$$ signs more than anything else and subdividing to make 14A and 14B.

  • I'm subdiving a number 15 into two lots and have the option of:
    - 15 and 15a; or
    - 13 and 15 (currently there is no number 13 in the street)
    Generally whole numbers look better than "a" variants, but 13 is said to be an unlucky number.
    Which should I choose?

  • Even Microsoft is also not keen on the number 13

  • +4

    This is the dumbest thread I have ever read on this site.

    • Oh thorton

      some common sense at last!

    • -1

      4 clearly impacts on house price

    • -1

      It may not be a main consideration, but still something to think about

  • +1

    I wanted to buy 404 but me and my GPS couldn't find it.

    • Many years ago the Council changed number 69 in my old street. It used to be a brothel, frequented by shock jocks, politicians, lawyers and bankers.

      If they did it today, 451 would be a good choice 'Censorship aka Unavailable for Legal reasons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_451.

  • I sometimes wonder too…

    Feng Shui, Vastu Shastra, Numerology, Astrology, Tarot… They all talk of numbers.

    May be some signs or science in numbers!

  • Wow, never really thought about the number of the house but I would not like to buy a property with a ridiculous or embarrassing street name. Anything cutesy or risque is a deal breaker. I will not live in Snugglepot Street, Cockburn Close, Bogan Place or Uranus Drive.

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